MANILA, Philippines – Over 1,700 reports of child abuse at school and at home were recorded by the Department of Education according to Vice President Sara Duterte. 

“Teachers and non-teaching personnel should always keep in mind that schools should be healthy, safe spaces,” Duterte told reporters during the National Children’s Month culmination activity in Manila on Monday.

Based on data recorded by DepEd’s Learner Rights and Protection Office, most of the 1,709 complaints reported to the Telesafe Contact Center Hotline involved cases of verbal abuse, followed by sexual abuse and cyberbullying.

“Mayroong tayong mechanisms sa loob ng Department of Education sa loob ng Learners Rights Protection Office na ibinababa natin doon sa school level for resolution iyong reklamo ng mga bata,” Duterte said to the reporters. 

According to Duterte, for simple offenses, DepEd will assess if the conflict can be resolved between parties. For serious offenses, it might lead to the filing of administrative or criminal complaints. 

“Mayroon po kami examples ng mga cases, nagfa-file po tayo ng administrative complaints sa loob ng Department of Education at if the case warrants the filing of a criminal case, lumalapit po tayo sa ating Philippine National Police at nagpapatulong tayo sa pag-file ng kaso. Sinisimulan natin iyan diyan sa dalawa, sa administrative at criminal complaints,” she said.

For the National Children’s Month, Duterte said that DepEd’s Learner Rights and Protection Office (LRPO) will further emphasize the department’s advocacy of protecting the rights of students and encouraging the educators to uphold the rights of learners.

This includes strengthening the implementation of the “DepEd Child Protection Policy” as well as Republic Act 11313, or the “Safe Spaces Act”.

Meanwhile, due to the alarming incidents that directly affect schools and students, DepEd is also issuing a policy that mandates all teaching and non-teaching personnel of DepEd, as well as other stakeholders and partners, to adhere to the protocols on handling “Children in Situations of Armed Conflict” (CSAC).

Sources: (1), (2)

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